Korea's National Pension Service abstains on three Korea Zinc agenda items

The National Pension Service’s Trustee Responsibility Expert Committee held its fifth meeting to determine how the fund will exercise voting rights at the upcoming shareholder meetings of 13 companies, including Korea Zinc. The committee’s decisions are part of a broader move by Korea’s public pension fund to influence corporate governance across major domestically listed firms.

For Korea Zinc, the committee said it will not exercise its voting rights on three agenda items at the February 24 shareholder meeting: the election of an internal director, Choi Yun-beom; the appointment of an outside director, Hwang Deok-nam; and the appointment of another outside, Park Byung-wook, under the focused voting system used for director elections.

The panel also expressly opposed the nomination of two audit committee candidates, Kim Bo-yeong and Lee Min-ho, signaling a contested view of who should serve on Korea Zinc’s audit oversight. The committee characterized these individuals as having histories that could harm corporate value or shareholder rights.

As for how the concentrated voting rights will be allocated, the committee decided to distribute the rights 50-50 between two groups of candidates: one group comprises Walter Field McRanlan and Choi Yeonseok (both presented as non-executive directors), and the other comprises Choi Byung-il and Lee Seon-sook (outside directors). Each bloc will receive half of the focused voting rights to allocate among its candidates.

The candidates in the two groups come from competing investor coalitions. One bloc is associated with a consortium led by Youngpoong and its affiliates YPC, along with MBK Partners via Korea Investment Holdings, which proposed Choi Yeonseok, Choi Byung-il, and Lee Seon-sook. The other bloc centers on Crusable JV, which put forward Walter Field McRanlan.

Beyond Korea Zinc, the committee approved the fund’s voting direction on other routine items, including Korea Zinc’s financial statements and changes to its articles of association. In those matters, the committee signaled support.

The committee also opposed the internal-director nomination of Jo Hyosang, vice-chair of HS Hyosung Advanced Materials, on grounds of excessive concurrent roles and potential harm to corporate value or shareholder rights. It further cautioned that reducing the board size could undermine the intent of updated corporate law.

In addition, the panel rejected the nomination of Jin Ok-dong, the chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, for a similar reason tied to governance and shareholder impact. For some other items, such as director remuneration caps at Naver, KB Financial Group, and Hitejinro, the committee found it difficult to deem the proposed caps appropriate relative to company performance.

Why this matters beyond Korea: Korea Zinc and the other names involved are parts of global supply chains spanning technology, manufacturing, and energy. The National Pension Service’s proactive voting stance illustrates how a large, state-backed investor can shape board composition and governance practices in major Korean firms, with potential ripple effects for foreign investors and markets. The episode also reflects broader U.S. interest in Korean corporate governance standards, cross-border investment dynamics, and Korea’s role in critical mineral supply chains discussed in international forums such as the IEA.